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Scotland Votes to Demand a Post-'Brexit' Independence Referendum New York Times LONDON Only hours before Britain is to embark on its momentous journey out of the European Union, Scotland's Parliament on Tuesday underscored one of the risks along that path by voting to demand a new referendum on Scottish independence. As the UK prepares to leave the European Union, Scotland has begun extricating itself from the UKQuartz all 684 news articles »

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Scotland Votes to Demand a Post-'Brexit' Independence Referendum - New York Times

Theresa May believes Britain is about to embark on a momentous journey as she formally triggers Article 50 tomorrow.

Speaking on a historic day, she will call on Britons to leave the bitter disputes of the EU referendum behind.

The PM will say: We are one great union of people and nations, with a proud history and a bright future. Now that the decision has been made to leave the EU, it is time to come together.

At around 12.30pm, the UKs Ambassador to the EU , Sir Tim Barrow, will deliver a letter to EU President Donald Tusk. It will formally set the UK on course to withdraw from the EU in March 2019 after two years of talks.

The note will be made public once it has been delivered, with Mrs May due to address MPs at around the same time.

She will promise to heal a nation still divided between Leavers and Remainers, and with Scotland threatening to break away.

Mrs May will say: It is my fierce determination to get the right deal for every single person in this country.

"For as we face the opportunities ahead of us on this momentous journey, our shared values, interests and ambitions can, and must, bring us together.

Tonight Mrs May spoke with Mr Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and German Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of the landmark moment.

A No10 spokesman said: In separate calls, they agreed that a strong EU was in everyones interests and that the UK would remain a close and committed ally.

They also agreed on the importance of entering into negotiations in a constructive and positive spirit, and of ensuring a smooth and orderly exit process.

Meanwhile, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn delivered a stark warning that the Tories must not be allowed to use Brexit to re-shape Britain as a low-wage tax haven.

He said: Labour is determined to ensure we can rebuild and transform Britain, so no one and no community is left behind.

But he faces criticism from one of his partys rising stars, Clive Lewis, who quit the Shadow Cabinet to vote against invoking Article 50 .

The former Shadow Business Secretary accused him of giving the Government carte blanche over Brexit .

He added: Theres a difference between respecting the decision to leave the EU, and giving Theresa May dangerous levels of power to decide the future of our country.

Brexit negotiations are expected to start in mid-May, and the PM is under huge pressure to secure a good deal on key issues like trade, immigration, and the rights of expats.

Mr Juncker today insisted the crunch talks would be fair and friendly. But privately EU chiefs have vowed to play hardball.

Speaking in Brussels, Labour Mayor of London Sadiq Khan urged them not to punish Britain for pulling out of the bloc.

Mr Khan, who met with lead negotiator Guy Verhofstadt, warned any deal which damages Britains financial services will also hurt Europe .

He said: I say this with friendship and all due respect but a bad Brexit deal that hurts London would hurt the European Union too.

Mr Tusk has vowed to give Brussels initial response to Mrs Mays within 48 hours, publishing a draft version of the EUs priorities for talks.

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Goodbye EU: Theresa May signs historic letter that officially triggers Britain's exit from the European Union - Mirror.co.uk

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Dimitris Avramopoulos said that EU and Hungarian experts will meet to discuss the new law, which has been sharply criticized by U.N. agencies and human rights advocates.

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The new legislation is meant to complement the fences built by Hungary in 2015 and this year on the borders with Serbia and Croatia. The barriers have drastically reduced the number of migrants able to pass through the country on their way to Germany and other destinations in Western Europe.

We decided to work together through our experts and ensure that EU rules also are complied with, Avramopoulos said after meeting with Hungarian officials. The European principles have been jointly and unanimously agreed by all member states and should therefore be respected and implemented by everyone, too.

This implies giving effective access to the asylum procedure while fighting against abuses, but also ensuring a fair review of decisions, the commissioner added.

Interior Minister Sandor Pinter said that while there was agreement with the EU about the need to increase European security, there were differences on how to deal with migrants trying to enter countries while avoiding regular border controls.

Our positions came closer even today and by the summer, we will find a way to express a common position, Pinter said.

Human Rights Watch, a New York-based group, said that the commissioners visit was long overdue and noted that other countries in the region, like Poland and Slovenia, were following Hungarys example by adopting similarly restrictive asylum rules.

Hungarys new rules are designed to make it difficult to seek asylum there, and unpleasant or downright dangerous for those who do, said Lydia Gall, an HRW researcher in Eastern Europe.

She said that Avramopoulos should demand that Hungary change course. He should also be willing to use legal enforcement action if Hungary fails to comply.

Meanwhile, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, an advocate for asylum-seekers, said that a temporary order late Monday from the European Court of Human Rights was meant to prevent Hungary from taking eight teenagers and a woman with a high-risk pregnancy from refugee reception centers to the shipping container border camps.

The rules coming into force today simply deny protection to children, deny protection to refugees and essentially resort to illegal detention, said Marta Pardavi, the Helsinki Committees co-chair.

Gyorgy Bakondi, Prime Minister Viktor Orbans national security adviser, said that 88 asylum-seekers, including 21 unaccompanied minors between the ages of 14 and 18, were now in reception centers around the country and could be taken to either of the two transit zones on the Serbian border, in the towns of Roszke and Tompa.

We took these legal steps so that no one is able to enter Hungary illegally, Bakondi said. Our aim is to decrease the security risk markedly present in Europe since 2015. We are protecting not only Hungarys borders, but Europes as well.

U.N. childrens agency UNICEF has also expressed concerns over that fact that unaccompanied minors older than 14 will also be detained in the border camps.

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European Union Attacks Hungary's Anti-Migrant Laws - Breitbart News

The European Union approved the proposed merger of Dow Chemical and DuPont on Monday, declaring itself satisfied with commitments the companies have made to divest businesses.

Both plan to join in a $62 billion deal and then break apart into three separate, publicly traded companies. Those companies would focus on agriculture, material science, and the production and sale of specialty products.

EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said the bloc's conditional approval ensures that the merger "does not reduce price competition for existing pesticides or innovation for safer and better products in the future."

The 28-nation bloc had raised concerns over the merger in the form originally proposed, but the EU's executive commission said that "the commitments submitted by Dow and DuPont address these concerns in full."

Dow and DuPont said in February they were willing to divest more businesses to address regulators' concerns.

The companies will sell the DuPont pesticide businesses and "almost the entirety of DuPont's global R&D organization," the commission said. Part of Dow's petrochemical business also will be sold manufacturing facilities in Spain for acid copolymers and a contract through which it sources ionomers.

Dow is based in Midland, Mich. DuPont has its headquarters in Wilmington, Del. U.S. authorities are still examining the proposed merger.

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European Union approves Dow Chemical-DuPont merger - Los Angeles Times

The European Union has demanded that Russia release protesters "without delay", after tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in the biggest anti-government demonstration in years.

Around 500 people were detained, according to Russian authorities, but human rights groups said around 1,000 had been arrested.

Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny was among those detained, arrested as he walked to a rally from a subway station.

The popular 40-year-old opposition leader recently announced his bid for presidency, and if found guilty, could spend up to 15 days in prison.

Appearing in court, Navalny said that Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev should be summoned to court because his "corrupt activities led to people coming on to the streets of 99 Russian cities".

He posted a selfie from the courtroom, with the caption: "A time will come when we'll put them on trial too - and that time it will be fair."

Last updated Mon 27 Mar 2017

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European Union urges Russia to release protesters 'without delay' - ITV News